The news of the joint war between Germany and Italy against France and Belgium is like a super hurricane that has swept the whole world in just a few hours, from Moscow to London, from Nanjing to Washington, everyone is talking about how many new disasters and changes this war between France and Germany and Italy will bring to the planet that has been reduced to a world of blood and fire.

Churchill sat in the conference room of the Admiralty on Whitehall Street, sipping on a cigar, the British Empire's Admiralty Chancellor seemed to be in a good mood right now, chatting with the visiting Prime Minister Neville. "That's really good news, Mr. Prime Minister, should we have a toast to the Franco-German war?"

It's blunt enough to be very much in line with the standards of an English gentleman, but in reality, it seems to be so. Although Britain had already "recognized" German hegemony on the European continent, it also promised not to interfere in the conflict between France and Germany. But anything that could weaken Germany and bring the continent back into equilibrium was still the dream of the elite of the British Empire. Therefore, although the British bigwigs here tried to maintain their reserve and indifference, everyone felt the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere that filled this room.

And the good news today is not just the Franco-German war. Foreign Secretary Anthony. Aiden then reported another piece of great news, which was from the British Embassy in Nanjing. The Chinese government is willing to provide Britain with guarantees of Australia's security in the form of a formal treaty, and if Japan dares to land in Australia, British Guinea, the British Bismarck Islands, and the British Solomon Islands, China will start a war against Japan again! In exchange for this assurance, China wanted nothing more than a private promise by Britain not to interfere in the war between Japan and the United States. That is to say. Japan is planning a new attack on the United States! The target is likely to be the Hawaiian Islands!

Chamberlain smiled and lit his pipe and took a beautiful puff on his cigarette. What a good day! Not only are the Germans about to be unlucky, but even the Americans are about to make another big mistake. It seems that the time has really come for the British Empire to function. The only regret is that the Chinese seem to be better than expected, their attacks in Siberia and Central Asia seem to be very smooth, and Japan is once again bent on making trouble with the United States, and it seems that it has given up the idea of joining forces with the Soviet Union against China. But their good days must be coming to an end, and once the pressure on Trotsky on the Western Front is greatly reduced, the forces on the Eastern Front will certainly be strengthened. Then the Chinese will be locked in a bitter war in Siberia and Central Asia.

And as long as the British Empire launched a counterattack on the Indian battlefield while the Soviet Union was busy fighting China and Germany on the eastern and western fronts, it seemed that it would have a chance to regain its former glory......

When the dignitaries of the British Empire set their sights on India, their minds full of how to reclaim the jewel in the crown of the empire. The White House in Washington was also full of joy. "We should help France!" President Roosevelt, who yesterday was still worried about the next direction of the Japanese attack, is now fraught with his eyebrows dancing to describe to his cabinet and generals the idea of the United States to seize world leadership: "We must put Germany and China in a bitter war, and if necessary, we can even come to the aid of the Soviet Union!" Now China, Britain and Germany have formed an alliance to preserve the old world, and the Soviet Union is a tool to smash the old world...... And the best result was that China, Britain, the Soviet Union and Germany were defeated in the world war. Then the future belongs to the United States! ”

"Mr. President...... Now the United States is also caught in a war of great attrition! ”

Admiral MacArthur, who has always adhered to the anti-Soviet and anti-G stance, said with some disapproval: "According to the agreement just reached between China and Britain. As soon as Japan invaded Australia, it would be attacked by China and Britain, and it was obvious that the next target of the Japanese attack could not be Australia. ”

William. Raisi immediately took over the topic and said: "Mr. President, the Navy believes that the Hawaiian Islands are likely to be attacked by Japan in a short period of time...... If we lose that forward base, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat Japan in the short term! ”

After being poured two basins of cold water on the heads of the navy and army, Roosevelt, who was on the rise, felt a little unhappy, isn't it just a little Japan? The Pacific Fleet won't really be that vegetable, and it won't even be able to keep the Hawaiian Islands, right? He looked at William. Lehi said, "Admiral." Then let's talk about the defense of the Hawaiian Islands, the war has been going on for more than 5 months. I guess it's already a strong sea fortress, right? ”

"I regret, Mr. President, that the defense situation of the Hawaiian Islands has not improved significantly compared to before the war, and is even worse than it was before the war...... At least then there was a large fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. ”

William. Leahy's words suddenly made Roosevelt's interest fall to the freezing point, and Roosevelt, who had been assistant secretary of the Navy, certainly knew what it meant to lose Hawaii and more Americans! He looked at William with a frown and dissatisfaction. Leahy looked: "What's going on?" Mr. Admiral, don't you know the importance of the Hawaiian Islands? ”

William. Leahy glanced at MacArthur beside him, who coughed and took over the topic and explained: "Mr. President, in fact, the Navy has strengthened the defense of the Hawaiian Islands as much as possible, but the Army has not sent enough troops and planes to Hawaii. ”

"Why?" Roosevelt looked at MacArthur with burning eyes. "Why is there no army to send? Hasn't the United States entered a wartime system? The army has also expanded to more than 3 million! ”

MacArthur shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands out, "Actually, the army doesn't have many available soldiers!" Before the war, the army had only 130,000 men, which was smaller than a Chinese group army, and its weapons and equipment were even less than theirs. While the United States has the most powerful industrial power in the world and can produce weapons quickly, it has not been able to build an army so quickly. Because officers need to be trained, soldiers need to be trained...... Although there are 3 million young people in the army's barracks, they are not real soldiers, and they do not have the necessary requirements to go into battle to kill the enemy! ”

"Are you going to watch Hawaii fall? My Chief of Army Staff! Roosevelt clenched his fist: "Immediately strengthen Hawaii's defenses!" The garrison there must be increased to 200,000 by the end of June, no. It's 300,000! ”

Several generals in the office looked at each other, and they kind of understood that Roosevelt's military science was based on mathematics. As long as there are many of them, they will definitely win the battle. If this is the case, what kind of world hegemony will the United States strive for? Because who can surpass China in terms of quantity?

But at this moment, Roosevelt and his generals could not have imagined that they were struggling to strengthen the defense of the Hawaiian Islands. The Kure Naval Port in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, is already a noisy and busy scene, and the port, which has been empty since the war between Japan and the United States, is already full of warships and transport ships of all sizes.

Ammunition supply convoys lined up in a long line to enter the military port, which had been deserted a few days ago, and the booms on the pier were swinging back and forth, hoisting heavy shells onto the warship.

Thick pipelines also extend from underground oil depots to these warships moored at the dockside. Countless tons of valuable, low-impurity light heavy oil are injected into the tank.

The officers in charge of the oil depot stared blankly at the rapidly rotating instrument and couldn't help but take a breath, the fuel known as "a drop of blood and a drop of oil". Now it's like no money flowing into the belly of these big warships on the sea. The main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet once again gathered at Kure Gungang Harbor, and the scale of the assembly was even greater than the previous one, and not only the main combat ships of the Combined Fleet were all assembled, but also hundreds of transport ships also appeared here. The huge Wu military port can no longer accommodate all the ships. The Seto Inland Sea outside the port is also full of various ships.

The infantry and marines of the brigade also marched into the military port in a line that could not be seen as far as the eye could see. On several docks moored to troop carriers, they were full of neat rows of Japanese Red Army soldiers dressed in khaki uniforms, holding rifles and carrying backpacks, waiting in silent lines to board the ships. Everywhere there was a surge of muzzles and military caps.

"It's another big battle that will decide the future and fate of the party and the country......"

Takeda Heng, who was standing in front of the glass window of the conference room of the Kure Jungang Town Guard Headquarters Building with a view of the port, muttered to himself.

"If we can really take Hawaii, the Japanese GCD should be able to get rid of the danger of extinction...... As long as we can hold on there. The Chinese will not go to war against the alliance, after all, they do not want to see the United States take the opportunity to retake Hawaii. And then return to the Western Pacific, so that we can find a way out of what seems to be a dead end......"

He slowly turned around and looked at Yamamoto Fifty-six who was standing respectfully behind him.

"Yamamoto-kun, this time it depends on whether your Red Navy can make persistent efforts and make new contributions to the party and the country."

Yamamoto fifty-six snapped a straight face: "The Red Navy Combined Fleet guarantees to complete the mission!" ”

Takeda smiled: "Yamamoto-kun, do you think this battle will go smoothly?" Although he was asking, he did not give Yamamoto Isoroku a chance to answer, but continued to talk to himself: "10 aircraft carriers, 9 capital ships, 8 heavy cruisers, 21 light cruisers, 68 destroyers, 3 seaplane carriers, 3 submarine carriers, 31 submarines, 18 tankers, 122 transport ships and 6 army divisions and 5,000 marines...... Even if the Hawaiian Islands are impregnable, such a large force is enough to capture them, right? ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six was about to echo and say a few compliments by the way, but he didn't know why he suddenly hesitated.

Takeda's sharp gaze immediately stared at Yamamoto: "Yamamoto-kun, what are you worried about?" ”

Yamamoto was silent for a moment, but finally replied: "The current US Navy is not our opponent, and the battle to capture Hawaii has a great chance of winning. But...... Chairman, I was thinking about Japan's next move, China had provided security guarantees to the British colonies of Australia. This will block the future of Japan......"

"Do you think that guarantee makes sense?" Takeda asked softly.

"What does the chairman mean ......"

Takeda Heng smiled coldly: "France and Germany have already started a war, and now Germany is fighting on two fronts, and the pressure on the western front of the Soviet Union has been greatly reduced." In this way, Trotsky would be able to commit more troops to the East, and it would not be long before Chang Ruiqing could no longer care about his promises to Britain. Yamamoto-kun, let go and fight, Japan's future will depend on the officers and men of the Red Navy! ”

……

In the early morning of May 10, 1934, at the entrance of the Fergana Basin, the advance command post of the 18th Army west of Khujand Fortress welcomed Marshal Bai Chongxi and Air Force General Yang Xianyi, who came to inspect. The two were now largely uninterested in the war between France, Germany, and Italy. Because they were already worried about the capture of the Ferghana Basin under the control of the Soviet army.

Beginning in March, the offensive with more than 1 million troops was brought to a halt here. Stopping the Chinese million-strong offensive was the Khujand fortified area at the entrance to the basin. At the heart of this fortified area is the Khujand Fortress, which is blocking the gate to the basin. On the bare hills on the north and south sides of the fortress, there are fortresses and various fortifications built by the Soviet army along the mountain.

In order to knock on the door of this Ferghana Basin, the 3 armies and 9 divisions of the 18th Wehrmacht Army and 80,000 Soviet troops have been strangled here for two weeks, and after paying the price of tens of thousands of casualties, there is still no hope of taking it. And not only here, the 36th Army and the 4th Army, which attacked the Ferghana Basin from the north and south, were also blocked in the lofty mountains of the Kyrgyz Mountains and the Gisar Alai Mountains, advancing southward.

And Yang Xianyi, the commander of the Air Force who boasted about Haikou in front of Chang Ruiqing earlier. After the bombing of the air force was repeatedly ineffective, he had to go to the front line to see what was going on. The forward command post of the 18th Army was located on a hill more than 300 meters high about 12 kilometers northwest of Khujand Fortress, and from this position you could see all the situation on the battlefield.

He has been in the army for nearly 20 years. It was the first time that Commander Yang of the Air Force, who had actually gone to the front line, took the binoculars from the adjutant's hand and looked at the battlefield, and the scene that caught his eye made him gasp. I saw that the fortified area, which is more than 20 kilometers wide and at least 10 kilometers deep, is like the legendary Abi Hell. Everywhere there were smoky dilapidated fortifications. Craters of all sizes dotted the surface of the earth, as if they had reached the surface of the moon, charred human fragments were everywhere, and there were even many Stalker tank destroyers that had been reduced to a pile of twisted steel wreckage.

"How...... How so!? ”

Resisting the urge to vomit, the general who had been in charge of the Chinese Air Force since the time of Sun Yat-sen turned his head and asked Lieutenant General Wang Shuming, who had been promoted to commander of the 10th Air Division: "What's the matter, didn't you use Stuka to destroy Khujand Fortress?" Why is it still playing like this? ”

Hearing Yang Xianyi's questioning, Wang Shuming shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Tiegong (Yang Xianyi's Iron Nunnery), several fortresses on the ground of Kuzhan Fortress have long been blown up by Stuka with 500 kg bombs. But the Soviet army had already fought well. Do you see the bare hills on either side of Khujand Fortress? The mountains were hollowed out by them, and they were full of roadways and bomb shelters. The Soviets hid inside like ground rats, and our armor-piercing bombs couldn't help them at all. ”

Zhu D, commander of the 18th Army on the side, also added: "The Soviets not only hid the infantry underground, but even the artillery also had special lanes, and according to the confessions of the captured prisoners, from the summer of 1932, the Soviets transferred hundreds of thousands of laborers and forced laborers to build the Khuzhan fortified area, and hollowed out a large area of hills." The tunnels near the entrance to the Ferghana Basin are mainly for hiding soldiers, and a little inside is for hiding artillery and ammunition, and there are also bunkers under Khujand Fortress, even if all the ground buildings of the fortress are destroyed, they can continue to resist by relying on the ruins and bunkers. Now almost all the 80,000 Soviet troops are hiding underground, and our artillery fire cannot hit them at all, and the bombs of the air force cannot explode either. ”

"That means the 18th Army can't smash the gates of the Ferghana Basin?" Bai Chongxi also put down the binoculars in his hand at this time, frowned and asked.

Zhu D shook his head and said, "Even if you can knock it down, you will have to break a few big teeth...... I really didn't expect that Ferghana's bone would be difficult to gnaw on this kind of Cheng dù. Stuka's 500-kilogram armor-piercing bombs are useless, let alone 155 cm and 105 cm howitzers. Jian Shuai, there is only one way now, that is, the sea of corpses and blood is filled with human lives, and slowly gnaw from the edges of both sides of the Soviet army's fortified area, and it is estimated that it will take two or three hundred thousand casualties to take it down. ”

Bai Chongxi looked at Liu Mingzhao, the chief of staff beside him: "Bo Cheng, what do you think?" ”

As the saying goes, if Ci is not in charge of the army, those who can become the commander of the front army and the group army do not cherish human life, in their opinion, the soldier's life is just a number! Whether they have to be sacrificed or not depends only on whether it is worth it or not! Of course, if human life is priceless, don't tell people like them, in their eyes, only victory in war is priceless!

Of course, Liu Mingzhao is also this kind of person, but the victory made by taking human life is always imperfect in the eyes of this genius staff officer. He thought for a while and asked Zhu D, "Brother Yujie, can the strength of the Soviet army in the Fergana Basin be determined?" ”

"It can be determined that there are two armies, namely the 41st Army and the 42nd Army, and the headquarters of the Soviet Tianshan Front is also in the city of Ferghana in the basin, and there may be a small number of guard troops." Zhu D replied.

Liu Mingzhao nodded thoughtfully, and said in a deep voice: "There will not be many guards in the front army headquarters, the two Soviet army groups together are 160,000 people, and now there are 80,000 here in Khujand, and the remaining 80,000 should be deployed in the mountains on the north, east, and south." There must be an empty army in the basin! His eyes lit up, looked at Bai Chongxi and said, "Jian Shuai, let's have a surprise soldier from the sky!" ”